Grooming Gossip
by Bushy Squirrel
Summary: Michael really needs to have his wings groomed. His brothers bully him into it. - K-plus for implied minor action violence


Michael's wing twitched slightly as Gabriel brushed past him, making Lucifer pause mid-sentence. Gabriel used to crawl all over the wings of his oldest brother when he was just a fledgling so a mere brush shouldn't have caused Michael any discomfort.

"Is everything ok, Michael?" Lucifer inquired.

"I am fine, Lucifer. Do continue with what you were saying." Michael insisted, adjusting his posture with a small frown.

"Something is causing you a discomfort, Michael." Raphael sided with Lucifer, calling Michael out on his small fib. "Did you injure yourself during your recent visit to Earth?"

"I had a small tussle with Gabriel, but I am uninjured." Michael admitted, giving a grinning Gabriel a look of amused irritation. "_Someone_ thought merely looking at a field of flowers wasn't enough to appreciate it."

"Come on, Mikey. If Dad only wanted us to look at them then he would have made it painful to roll around in them." Gabriel laughed.

"It sounds like you got something caught in your wings. Have you groomed them recently?" Lucifer asked, attempting to keep a smile of his own from forming. It was basically his fault that Gabriel loved to rough house so much. Lucifer wrestled with Gabriel frequently when he was a fledgling.

"I have not had the chance. The Seraphim have been needing a fair bit of assistance lately."

"Well, then we know what we're doing next. Father is not expecting us for a while." Raphael declared. "We should be grooming our wings semi-regularly, anyway."

"It is so tedious." Michael pointed out with a deeper frown than he had before, pulling a snort from Gabriel at his rare show of disliking something.

"I'll do it for you, Mikey, since it's partially my fault." Gabriel offered.

"Yes. Let Gabriel groom your wings while I groom his. I am sure his wings are just as bad." Raphael jumped at the opportunity. Gabriel was actually worse than any other angel he knew when it came to grooming. Michael may find it tedious, but at least he still did it. Gabriel basically forgot it was something he needed to do until the discomfort became unbearable.

"I don't think you're getting out of it this time, Michael." Lucifer let a smile escape this time."

"If I'm stuck doing this, you are sitting right in front of me so I can groom your wings as well." Michael said stubbornly. He wasn't about to let Lucifer get out of this with a smug smile like that appearing on his face.

"I had them groomed recently, but you are more than welcome to tidy them up a bit." Lucifer chuckled. He found Michael's petulant attitude towards grooming vastly amusing. Just one of a few obvious things the oldest angel had or did that proved he wasn't absolutely perfect.

"Just let me go talk to something quick and then we can get to it." Gabriel jumped up from his seat, flying off before one of his brothers could argue.

* * *

Lucifer closed his eyes as Michael's fingers ran down his wings to shift feathers back into place. He had the exact opposite reaction as Michael when it came to grooming their wings. Lucifer enjoyed it.

"I cannot believe you let your wings get as bad as this." Raphael exclaimed to Gabriel, who was only half listening.

"Blah, blah, blah..." Gabriel muttered under his breath. He was a lot more focused on straightening all of the feathers he ruffled when he tackled Michael. There were quite a few, so this was probably going to take him a while.

"This is not a laughing matter, Gabriel. You need to take better care of your wings." Raphael chided him, tugging on a few feathers to get his full attention.

"Believe it or not, Raphael, but I usually forget to groom them because I'm busy doing my duties." Gabriel shot back. "Running around delivering messages and keeping track of fledglings doesn't allow for much personal time."

"Father would understand you pausing in your duties long enough to take care of yourself, Gabriel." Lucifer said before an argument would begin. Gabriel and Raphael's personalities clashed so much that altercations were rarely preventable if you weren't paying close enough attention.

"I can't help that I'm a work-a-holic." Gabriel tugged lightly at a few stubborn feathers before smoothing them down, finally moving on to Michael's other wing.

"Fledglings do seem to prefer you out of the four of us." Michael commented absentmindedly. The repetitive action of running his fingers through Lucifer's feathers had him in a bit of a trance, making him only half listen to the conversation going on around him.

"Gabriel's friendlier than we are." Lucifer chuckled. "He can act just as childish as they do, giving him the ability to bring himself down to their level. They appreciate that."

"It also makes him more likely to cause trouble with them." Raphael pointed out.

"Don't be such a party-pooper, Raphael. That mentality is why most fledglings cry when you pick them up." Gabriel smirked in amusement.

"They do not cry!" Raphael protested, ignoring the chuckling coming from Lucifer.

"Oh! So I was just imagining that one of the latest fledglings started shrieking when you went to hold him." Gabriel snorted. "What was his name again? Castiel?"

"...yes." Raphael reluctantly admitted.

"I know Castiel." Michael spoke up randomly. "There is a lot of love in that fledgling. He is also particularly close with a few of the others. Balthazar and Anna, I believe. He is definitely going to grow up to do great things."

"And you know this how?" Lucifer glanced over his shoulder with an amused expression.

"I don't know. I just do. Call it a gut feeling." Michael explained.

"Wow! Mikey believing that something is going to happen without Dad declaring it so? Be still, my throbbing Grace." Gabriel cracked sarcastically, pressing a hand to his chest in a shocked manner.

"Shut up." Michael snapped over the explosion of laughter from Lucifer and Raphael. "I honestly don't know what I believe it. But every time I interact with Castiel, my Grace literally swells with joy. It's as if it's reacting in expectation of things to come, because I certainly don't feel that with you three. Only with Father have I felt that before."

"Maybe his Grace is simply compatible with yours." Lucifer suggested, turning around now that Michael was finished with him. "Or maybe it has something to do with Father's latest pet project."

"The humans?" Raphael piped up incredulously. "They are nothing. How could they affect angels?"

"Dad did say about us being able to use humans as vessels once they've fully developed. There was also something about true vessels somewhere in there. Maybe Castiel will be assigned as the Guardian Angel for Mikey's true vessel. The bond between his Grace and the human's soul in that situation could conceivably affect Mikey." Gabriel offered. He ran his fingers through Michael's feathers one last time to smooth them out before patting Michael on the shoulder, signaling that he was done.

"I don't see how that would already be happening, then. He or she has not been born yet." Michael pointed out.

"Just ask Father about it." Lucifer let out. "With this being such a strange occurrence, he will not be angry with you asking about it. He may very well explain it."

"That is a very big maybe." Raphael stated.

"Maybe or not, I agree with Lucy. Ask Dad." Gabriel sighed, wincing slightly when Raphael accidentally tugged too hard on a feather. "Even if his answer isn't straightforward, you'll get _something_. Dad _likes_ when we ask him questions."

"I do not want to sound like I am questioning his decisions." Michael moved so he, Lucifer, and Gabriel were sitting in a triangle so he could look at all three of his brothers at once. He did not like having his back to any of his siblings while speaking if he could help it. It was rude.

"You won't be. You're simply curious about it." Lucifer assured him.

"You must admit that Father loves it when we are curious about something." Raphael pointed out. "He always wants us to learn."

"I will not guarantee anything, but I promise I will consider it." Michael placated, it becoming quite obvious that the others would hound him to ask about it until he agreed (even though Raphael hadn't actually stated that he was siding with Lucifer and Gabriel).

"Good." Gabriel said, pleased that Michael agreed to that much. "Now that that's settled, what's this I hear about you wanting to change up some of the songs the choirs sing, Lucifer?"

"Father's creations are ever changing and growing. I merely want the praises to reflect that." Lucifer defended himself.

"It will take some time for the choirs to get used to the idea of changing the music or adding some new songs to their collection. I suggest going about that delicately." Raphael said, neither being for or against the idea.

"That is why I have yet to make any changes. I want them to accept the concept before providing them with new material."

"Why not start with the fledglings?" Gabriel asked. "They don't know all the songs and music yet. Any new music or alterations will go unnoticed."

"That is a good suggestion." Michael pointed at Gabriel while looking at Lucifer. "If anyone knows how fledglings thing, it would be Gabriel. If he things teaching fledglings new material before they realize it's new material is a good idea, I am inclined to agree."

"During my next lesson with them, then." Lucifer waved a hand in acknowledgment.

"Ok, I am done." Raphael smoothed down the last of Gabriel's feathers that he had been working on. "Please try not to let your wings get that bad again."

"I make no promises, Raphael. Like I said, I tend to get very busy." Gabriel immediately spoke up.

"Don't worry, Raphael. I will help Gabriel keep track of his grooming schedule from now on." Lucifer diverted another possible argument. "My duties give me a flexible schedule. I can afford to do it."

"And I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Gabriel is your favorite." Michael deadpanned.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Lucifer protested with a smile. "I have no favorites."

"Sure." Michael rolled his eyes, standing up to stretch out the cramps that had begun to form. "Now that we're finished, we should get going. Father is most likely waiting."

"Michael is right. We should go." Raphael stood up next, leaving Lucifer and Gabriel to roll their eyes at each other before getting up to join their brothers.


End file.
